Thursday, June 11, 2009

Change is not the only constant and other useless ponderings

Its funny how things play out. sometimes, most times, its quite tragically- but as consistently it is with deep, almost comic irony.

Yes, this is sort-of about the Obama speech in a convulted sort-of logic. Let me delay my conceptual qualms with dichotomies such as "america can co-exist with islam" (where can i get islamic citizenship by the way?) and let me overlook my dismay with his complicity with the Mubarak regime. For philosophical concerns, i'd rather refer you to this very insightful article. But about Palestine, I was still thinking you know, its a good thing what Obama said, about Israel being an occupying power, and about Palestinians suffering untolerable daily humilation. But with equal scrutiny I wondered about why he asks Muslims to not get trapped in the history of colonialism, but lists the atrocities of the holocaust. why he tells Palestinians to abandon violence but doesnt mention the devestating cast lead operation. Then i tell myself, well, he's a politician, and he's getting enough of an ass kicking in America for even just being here, from all sorts of paranoics and crackpots. But I wasnt too forgiving on that point. But as i followed the hype of the Abdulhakim Muhammad incident i realied: America is chucked full of lunatics with no degree of sense or reason. Please see here.And unlike the crazy crackpots in Egypt, these ones have voting power.gak! I had just written my response, here to this guy, and had just managed to retrieve my eyeballs from how far back they had rolled to the back of my head after reading the rants of this loser here. Although I'd always thought Obama was an adventurous and brave man, sometimes I forget what he's up against. But then, things never stay in one way. Against this intense rhetorical whopping that Obama was getting, being questioned as to how he would "justify this one", came the most startling statement, that could outshine any retort I could have tried to tell some of these bloggers. A crazy supremacist senile white man, shoots a black security guard at the national holocaust museum. Obama was lecturing us about the wrongs of denying the holocaust, but few are bigger critics than whats his face,James W. von Brunn. Id like to see the haters try to pin that one on the Muslim world. Or scarily run away from the whole thing. I feel really sorry for the family of the deceased guard but I absoultely have to admit that I chirped and clapped my hands when I clicked on the story and realised it was a white american who dun it.

3 comments:

I think that way too many people in the US have WAYYYY too much free time. It was just a speech for petesake. I thought it was a pretty good one and said so on my blog, but I have Google news alerts for "Giza" "Cairo" and "Egypt" and I'm getting really, really tired of people rehashing that short speech for ever and ever. Get a grip on things, people.

It may be just a speech, but it comes with loads of baggage - historic and political - and as such, rightfully subject to so much scrutiny, both in America, here in Egypt, and across the Muslim world. Come on Maryanne, you should know that. And if you're tired of hearing about it, maybe you should alter your news alert settings. - Admin

sorry admin, but id have to agree with maryanne that people have been trying to reinvent the (analytical) wheel with the speech, and it all seems much more futile now with Obama praising Netenyahu's horrifying speech, which no one gave as much scrutiny, simply accepting that netenyahu "calls for a palstinian state" when its clearly not what he was saying at all...so, yes, i do think it was time to change the subject a while back...

8 Egyptian bloggers are in the US for a first-hand look at the election campaigns.They will be blogging on this site through the presidential inauguration as part of a project by the Kamal Adham Center for Journalism Training and Research at The American University in Cairo.